A Certain Type Of Person

With new bands forever seeking to emerge from shadowed obscurity, it can be very easy to simply take your place on the latest bandwagon, don the uniform and pay to play.

Altogether more refreshing seem to be those groups that juxtapose themselves with a trend and offer a choice of subversion; enter A Certain Type Of Person.
Now, a certain type of critic would no doubt mine that name for as many cheap laughs as they can conjure from their trendy flat-cap, but out of respect I'll limit myself to just one, or two at a push!

Regardless of ACTOP having only formed in the summer of last year, they exhibit a maturity in song-writing some bands endlessly strive for; their sound is a dynamic fusion of Witness' country-tinged eclectica and the acoustic sensibility of Roddy Frame. Their debut EP certainly doesn't seem the sound of a new band in need of definition.

Opening with the delicately laid-back "Bring Us Back", the record is a gentle, yet at times uninspiring, tour through the musicality of three university friends.

With the tracks "Holding On" and "Someone Let It All Out" taking in a cocktail of blues infused folk and trippy atmospherics, the potential of ACTOP is evident from the off but it is only in the second half of the EP that the sound seems truly comfortable.

Another Day, for instance, is a post-modern exercise in folk, a simple blend of percussion and subtle chord progression building into a seasoned and powerful crescendo.

The ambient synth constantly bubbling just beneath the surface is perhaps too bland to really lift an otherwise pleasant track beyond this debut, but appears indicative of a band with the ideas to soon be contenders.

Though it may not be an instant hit, you will appreciate this record more with each listen. A very encouraging and well executed debut, lets hope they're not confined to a certain type of success, if you catch my drift.